From Social Housing to Urban Resilience: Architecture and Building Research Institute and TIZC Co-create the Blueprint for Net-Zero Buildings

Hsueh Weili, ESG Senior Strategist of UN Sustainable Development: Seeing the Circular Economy of a City from a Single Façade.

The Architecture and Building Research Institute (ABRI) of the Ministry of the Interior hosted the "Smart Energy-Saving, Carbon Reduction, and Innovation Technology Promotion Event" today (28th) at its Material Laboratory Center. The event, executed by the Taiwan Intelligent Zero Carbon Building Alliance (TIZC), combined policy briefings, technology application, and business model sharing. It successfully gathered participants from industry, government, academia, and research sectors to focus on how the building sector accelerate its transformation under Net-Zero Emissions target by 2050.

Hsueh Weili (left), founder of Join It Sustainable Technology, demonstrated a practical example of the Recyclable Color-painted PV Film during the Net-Zero Building Forum, explaining the feasibility and international trend of integrating renewable energy into exterior walls to industry, government, and academic sectors. The demonstration material (right) garnered significant attention from architects and industry seniors in the audience.

Director Wang Rong-Jin stated that the Climate Change Response Act has outlined a three-stage carbon reduction roadmap for the building sector:

2030: New public buildings must achieve energy efficiency Class 1 or Near Net-Zero Carbon status.

2040: More than half of existing buildings must be completed energy-saving improvements.

2050: A full transition to Near Net-Zero Carbon is required.

ABRI will continue to drive public buildings and social housing to become the starting point for low-carbon cities through subsidies, demonstration projects, and education and training. Chief Luo Shi-Chi explained the Near Net-Zero Carbon building and energy performance labeling system, noting that in the context of rising carbon fees and stricter regulations, a building’s energy performance is now directly linked to its asset value and a company's ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance. He stressed the importance of prioritizing energy efficiency before utilizing green energy to achieve sustainability.

The Net-Zero Building Forum brought together representatives from central government agencies, architects' associations, and the industry. Over one hundred experts were present to jointly promote building energy efficiency, energy saving, carbon reduction, and the smart net-zero roadmap through innovative technologies. The event, hosted by ABRI of the Ministry of the Interior and TIZC, concluded in an enthusiastic atmosphere.

In the keynote speech, Hsueh Weili, Chairman of Join It Sustainable Technology and ESG Senior Strategist of UN Sustainable Development, pointed out that the global transition has moved from mere reduction to just transition and adaptation finance. Buildings and cooling are the core of the urban climate action. He used "Recyclable Color-painted PV" and "Smart × Facade" as examples, demonstrating how facades, canopies, and signs can be transformed into a "power-generating canvas" that integrates power generation, shading, and urban aesthetics. By connecting sensors and AI to BEMS and EMS, this creates a net-zero loop from power generation, energy saving, energy storage, to data enhancement, providing reliable data for green finance, parametric insurance, and resilience ratings.

During the Q&A discussion session of the Net-Zero Building Forum, representatives from the ABRI and the industry exchanged ideas on building energy efficiency, facade power generation technology, and the future direction of demonstration site promotion. Hsueh Weili (1st from left), founder of Join It Sustainable Technology, offered concrete suggestions based on international trends and technological aspects, receiving high praise from the architects and experts in the audience.(Participating officials and speakers in the Q&A session, listed from left to right, were: Hsueh Weili, Chairman of Join It Sustainable Technology; Meng Yichao, Secretary-General of TIZC; Wang Rong-Jin, Director of ABRI, Ministry of the Interior; Luo Shi-Chi, Chief of the Environmental Control Division at ABRI, Ministry of the Interior; and Wang Po-Hsiang, CTO of Huakang Smart Cloud.)

Meng Yichao, Secretary-General of TIZC, stated that ABRI is the national leader in building carbon reduction, and the alliance aims to act as an "accelerator" connecting the government and the market, helping to transform research achievements into scalable solutions. Paticipants from all sectors unanimously agreed that starting with the renovation of a single facade, combined with policy, technology, and financial instruments, there is an opportunity to propel Taiwanese cities into a resilient new stage that is "smart, energy-efficient, net-zero, and narrative-rich."